Because After All
by Tears.Of.Estel
Summary: An old acquaintance of Dumbledore's steps into the Order, willing to lend a hand. Not everyone appreciates her controversial inputs, but to Harry, she's a breath of fresh air. And he desperately needs to breathe. Set during the summer after Ootp.
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

"He is efficient, I must give him that."

Standing in the shadows, scowl darkening her features, Natalia Abazy had to agree. Her plans for her Monday morning had been filled with many activities, but being called out to the scene of a vicious double murder was not one of them.

"He has some nerve." she said, through gritted teeth, mentally wincing as the bodies of the two women were levitated away from the scene of the crime and into the awaiting vehicles. Anger burned through her and had it not been for years of self-control and experience in these sorts of situations, she might just have left right then to hunt the bastard down herself. "What kind of man kills two women?"

Her eyes switched to her companion, who struggled to get his next words out.

"They say that he might not _be_ human, Talia."

She seemed to consider this for a moment, staring him directly in the eyes. It was a testament of their years of friendship that he did not flinch or look away when she did, something she was grateful for. It somehow made these situations feel just a little bit better, that he would be honest with her no matter what. Finally and with a sigh, she wrenched her eyes away from his.

"They said the same things about Gellert."

"But even he did not go to such lengths to torture the fairer sex."

She offered him a weak smile, knowing that he was right. She knew it shouldn't, but deep down the deaths got to her. It had been a long time since someone had died from unnatural causes under her watch, be they magical or not. Talia had learnt the value of even one life many years ago, a strong lesson which remained with her, one she was sure she would remember for ever. She did not like to know that people had lost their lives when she had the power to prevent that from happening.

"Britain should contain their villains to their own borders."

Mitya smiled sadly at her, resting a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Ah but alas, Talia, not everyone is as good at protecting their country as you."

"Then maybe it is time that we lent our help to them."

"I thought you were planning on staying out of this war."

"I was, but Mr Riddle just made it personal."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**Cryptic for now, i know. :) More coming soon. Thanks for reading and if you have the time, please review. It won't take long to tell me what you're thinking. :)


	2. Chapter 1

**_A/N:_** Another update so soon! I know, i know, but it is summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway) and while i currently have nothing to do, you can probably expect fast updates. Just a note that i forgot to mention last time: the name of my original character in this story is Natalia, which i believe is pronounced _nuh-tal-yuh_ (if i'm wrong please let me know). Anyway, she often goes by just Talia and i just didn't want to confuse anyone with that. Great, lets move on to another chapter of Baa. See you at the bottom. :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1.<br>**

Ron Weasley groaned. Summer had only just begun, as the sun blasting through the windows liked to remind him. He should be out playing quidditch, flirting with the muggle girls in the village, causing mayhem with Fred and George! But no. Sadly for the Weasley children, their mother had other plans for the start of summer.

The Burrow had remained uninhabited for almost a year, and the absence of Molly Weasley from the building was evident. Becoming the new headquarters for the Order, Molly was determined to make the house spotless in order to receive members for meetings and her two youngest children had just become her personal house elves. Fred and George had moved out and bought their own apartment over their shop and while everyone else thought it was a great idea to make them more independent and responsible, Ron had a sneaking suspicion that their sole reason for moving out was to escape _another_ summer spent cleaning.

Groaning, he picked up his filthy cloth and continued scrubbing the dirt off of the kitchen windows. He could not _wait _until he turned seventeen! Then no one, including his mother, would be able to make him do anything and even so he'd have magic as a reliable friend. _Stupid Fred and George,_ he thought using two hands to scrub a particularly grimy patch of glass. _We'll see who's funny when I'm able to-_

"Hello." A soft voice said, breaking his thoughts. In shock, he jumped, almost falling off the chair he had been standing on to reach the top windows. Regaining his balance, he turned slowly, cloth in dirty hands and looked at the person who had just interrupted him.

The cloth fell from his hands, floating to the floor as his mouth dropped open. Standing in the centre of the room was a beautiful girl, one he had never seen before. She couldn't have been very much older than him, maybe a few years he reckoned.

"I am very sorry; I did not mean to interrupt." She said quietly, smiling up at him.

As he stared at her, Ron felt an odd sense of déjà vu, reaching back to fourth year and another beautiful, part-veela, woman. So he didn't deal with pretty ladies very well. This could be an exception, right?

"Ar-are you here for the meeting?" he asked, mouth opening and closing like a fish. She really was beautiful: deep brown hair wrapped up in a messy bun, pretty auburn eyes that twinkled at him, white skin that seemed flawless. Ron really was in trouble.

She chuckled softly, making his heart beat faster. Forget about Fleur Delacour! Who needed a veela when you had the most beautiful woman in the world with you, laughing at things you said?

"What meeting?" she asked playfully, moving closer until she was standing almost directly beneath him. Ron grinned idiotically; he could see her up close now! But suddenly, warning bells went off in his head. He tried to push them away, which shouldn't be very hard; one could get lost forever by looking into her eyes. But something inside of him was telling him that something was wrong, though he couldn't remember what.

"What's your name?" he asked, still a little uncertainly.

"Talia." She replied, still smiling. "And what might yours be?"

"R-Ron Weasley."

"And is this your house, Ron?"

He wanted to lie, to tell her that no, it wasn't his. That he wouldn't normally be caught dead here, he was just helping out a friend. That he actually lived in a mansion and had so much money that his Gringotts account had to be guarded by a dragon. But something about the way she looked at him, something about her strange eyes made him tell the truth.

"Yes it's mine."

Neither person spoke for another minute as _she _continued to look into his eyes. Ron, being the exact idiot that he was couldn't help thinking that it was _romantic_, almost like he was bearing his mind and soul for her to read. But the moment was cut short as the door to the kitchen banged open, his second interruption of the day. Their special connection was lost as his beautiful Talia turned to see who had entered the room. As he saw who indeed it was, Ron was furious.

"Weasley! What in Merlin's name are you doing in here? How on earth did you set off the apparition jinx? I knew you were stupid but I didn't believe you were just _that _stupid!"

And that was when Severus Snape discovered that there was someone else in the room. Whipping his wand out of his cloak he trained it straight on the woman he didn't recognise. Ron's immediate reaction was once again, shock. Why would anyone want to hurt someone so beautiful?

"Weasley." Snape said, his eyes not leaving the woman, "Get down off that damn chair and make yourself useful. Go fetch Lupin."

"But-" Ron protested but the Potions professor was having none of it.

"NOW, Weasley."

Resignedly, Ron hopped off the chair and moved towards the door. He sent a last look at Talia, who smiled back. Yes, he could not wait until he turned seventeen.

* * *

><p>"And who might you be?" Snape asked, wand still pointed at the woman.<p>

She held her hands up, palms facing him in what was internationally recognised as the '_I come in peace'_ sign. But he didn't trust her. No one breaks into the headquarters of the most famous Voldermort rebellion group for no reason.

"As I told your boy, my name is Talia."

Snape scowled. "He is not my boy." He replied through gritted teeth. She visibly bit her lip to stop herself from smiling. "What are you doing here?"

Talia opened her mouth to speak but was stopped as the door to the room opened yet again. She rolled her eyes. English people needed to learn to be more polite.

* * *

><p>When Remus Lupin entered the kitchen of the Burrow, the scene he found was not at all what he had been expecting. Truth be told, he hadn't known what to expect when Ron Weasley had come out to the shed where Remus and his father had been working to get him because Snape wanted him. It was an odd thought in itself, Severus Snape actually <em>wanting <em>his help with anything.

Snape looked about ready to kill and when he saw why he knew it was perfectly understandable. On the threatening end of his wand stood a woman he didn't recognise which could only mean one thing: intruder.

Drawing his wand also, Remus came to stand beside Snape.

"How did this happen?" he asked his fellow member, looking the girl up and down. She was young, a lot younger than them, probably close in age to at least one of Molly's children. Pretty girl too.

"She was in here talking with Ronald. She seemed to have him quite enamoured."

"Surely you cannot blame me for being beautiful." She said, speaking for the first time since Remus had entered. He looked at her curiously.

"Where are you from? That is no British accent."

She smiled magnificently at him, as if happy that he had recognised she was not one of them. "Petersburg." She replied in a thick and husky accent. Snape frowned.

"Russia?"

"Well done genius."

Snape scowled and were it not for the serious situation, Remus may have laughed.

"Enough idiocy." He snarled, stepping closer to her and prodding her in the chest with his wand. To Remus, she didn't look at all threatened, more like she was bored and waiting for something. What that was, bothered him. "We demand to know why you are here."

She looked up at them, as if deciding whether or not it was worth her while to talk. Luckily for them, she decided to do so.

"I am looking for a person, someone I once knew."

Remus and Severus exchanged a quick glance.

"And just who might this friend be?" Snape sneered, not anticipating her chosen answer.

"Albus Dumbledore."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**Thank you for reading and i hope you're liking the story. If you are or especially if you're not, please let me know. I'm here because i'm trying to become a better writer and i know i have a long way to go. You have the power to help me by taking a minute to tell me what you think. Thanks so much to my first ever reviewer**_, _ILikeComps** and to those who alerted. It means a lot. :)

Anyways, enough of the boring stuff. Goodbye and hopefully we will see you next time. :)**_  
><em>**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Talia rolled her eyes, inspecting her finger nails as the men sitting opposite her watched her. The interrogation had moved to the long kitchen table and they had since been joined by Arthur Weasley, the head of the strange household.

"I already told you." She said, taking now to inspect the wood of the table. "I am only here because I want to see Dumbledore. I do not care for your little club."

Her lack of interest was obviously irritating them and she found great amusement in teasing the one called Snape. His reactions were always the best.

"How old are you?" Remus Lupin asked, making her look up with curiosity. No one had breached the question yet and she smiled as she pondered an answer.

"Old enough." Talia answered, looking wistful.

"You look barely old enough to pass as an adult witch, in Britain anyway." Remus continued. Her eyes slid closed and she placed her elbows on to the table, making a cradle with her hands for her chin to sit in.

"Have you never heard that it is rude to ask a woman her age, Mr Lupin?"

"I have, but under these circumstances-"

She cut in, opening her eyes once again and focusing them on Remus. He was her ticket out, she knew. He was the compassionate one after all.

"Look. It has been fun to toy with you," a growl was emitted from Snape at that moment, "but you are wasting so much of your own time. Just summon Dumbledore and be done with it."

Snape opened his mouth to reply but he never got the chance to.

"That won't be necessary. I'm quite capable of coming on my own accord."

All three men rose in surprise to greet their leader. Talia, however remained seated, choosing to not even turn in her chair.

"Albus, this girl-"

"I am _most_ aware of everything she has done today, thank you, Severus. "

She could feel his blue eyes on the back of her head as he moved towards her.

"Natalia. I must say that I am a little surprised by this unexpected visit. It has been far too long."

"But-"

"Thank you for your help today, Remus, Arthur, Severus, it is comforting to see your wise sense of caution. But if you could leave Miss Natalia and I, I would be most grateful. We have lots to catch up on after all."

* * *

><p>"I <em>would<em> love to know how you got in here. This is one of the most protected buildings in Britain, you know."

"Then that does not say much for your country, does it?"

As the other men had left the room, he had come to sit opposite her. Their conversation was strained; it had, after all, been a long time since either had met and when they last did speak, they hadn't ended things on good terms. Her feelings for him were blatantly obvious through her body language and she did nothing to correct this fact. It wouldn't come as much shock to him that she did not like him one bit.

"Sadly, not all of us have your talents, Natalia."

Talia's eyes narrowed at him. "Do not patronize me, Dumbledore."

"I did not mean to be patronizing."

"Of course not. Why would the _greatest wizard who ever lived_, oh do not look at me like that, word has reached me of all the praise they give you, ever have need to be patronizing?"

"They may say things but that doesn't mean I believe them myself." He replied, still keeping his calm and cool voice. Years of dealing with young people had taught him how to be patient and collected, something he was thankful of, especially in situations such as these.

"Wasn't it your dream to become the greatest wizard ever?" she said thoughtfully, ignoring his previous comment. He sighed.

"That was never my-"

"Oh yes, pardon me I forgot." She interrupted, once again neglecting to hear what he had said. "You were saving that position for the just _wonderful_-"

"_Enough_." Dumbledore said, his eyes flashing angrily at her. She smiled sweetly back.

"Is that the tone you use when your little club members don't do what you want them to?"

It was his turn to do the ignoring. "Why are you here, Natalia?"

"What can I say? I missed you."

"I don't think _miss_ will ever arise in a sentence of yours where my name appears. The real reason you're here. Please."

"You really want to know?" asked Talia, sliding her arms off of the table as her taunting grin melted. "Recently, we had the _pleasure_ of a visit from several of your countrymen."

Silence filled the air around them, Talia searching his face for a reaction. There was little movement, until he cleared his voice to speak.

"There were causalities?"

"Isn't there always?"

"Who?"

"Two non-magic women."

"Muggles."

"If that is the word you use for them, then yes."

Dumbledore folded his hands on the table. "I didn't know you cared for muggles."

"Believe it or not, not _all _of us think there is something wrong with them. So what if they do not carry powers inside of them? We are more alike than different; we look the same, we talk the same, we are born and reared on the same land. We learnt our lesson after the war. Both our communities need each other, a fact _your _people would do well to admit."

"Some here would think the same, including myself."

"Ah, but you did not always think that way. Tell me, Albus, how can you judge them, how can you think so badly of them when you know that had you been given the same opportunities for power when you were their age, you would have taken them? How does that make you better than them?"

After a long and heavy pause, Albus Dumbledore finally responded quietly. "I learnt my lesson as well as you, Natalia, it just took me a little longer to do so."

Silence enveloped them again and Talia took the time to stare at Dumbledore. He did not flinch or glance away, just continued to look back, his expression a lot softer than hers.

"I am here because I want to see everything that you are doing to stop Tom Riddle and I want to know what I can do to help."

His eyebrows rose. "You told me once upon a time that you would never help me, no matter what the situation was."

"Time changes and better evil you know than one you do not. Anyway, I am not doing this for you. If he succeeds, then war will also spread to Russia. And we cannot afford him to win."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"I'm telling you, she's _the_ most beautiful person in the world!" Ron Weasley exclaimed becoming frustrated with everyone's lack of faith in him.

"Better not let Hermione here you say that, mate." replied George Weasley, slapping a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "She could take it the wrong way."

"Shu'p." Ron retorted, feeling his face burn in embarrassment as he thought of the girl who had arrived several hours previously and was now running around somewhere with his sister. "You'd understand what I mean if you met her."

"Are you sure, Ronniekins? Said Fred, shoving his brother in the back. "I suppose you _must _be right, what with your impressive and extensive female experience."

"Wait, what experience Fred?"

"Oh, good point George! I forgot you don't _have _any, don't you not, Ronnie?"

Ron growled, kicking a loose stone beneath his foot and aiming it at one of the twins. It was an hour before the next order meeting was due to begin and as a result, Molly Weasley had sent her three youngest sons out of her house lest any trouble arise because of boredom. That left Ron to be followed around by the two, newly-wealthy maniacs people liked to call his brothers. His days at the Burrow were getting worse. He was hoping that Dumbledore decided that they pick up Harry soon….

"So, what did you bring me from the shop?"

* * *

><p>Fred sat at the table, drumming his fingers impatiently on the surface. From the corner of his eye, he could see his twin, looking as bored as he felt, inspecting his hands. The meeting was <em>supposed<em> to have started ten minutes ago, but Dumbledore had yet to appear, putting a halt to the proceedings. His mother was getting quite worried as no one had had word from the wizard but Fred wasn't really concerned. The old man was well capable of looking after himself. Fred was just bored.

Order of the Phoenix meetings weren't nearly as exciting as they seemed when you were underage and banned from attending. They were just….meetings. Members stood up to present findings, Dumbledore told them things they didn't know, blah blah blah. He kind of felt like he was back in school again, listening to boring lectures. But it wasn't school. In school, if he didn't pay attention he'd end up with a detention, or punishment homework. If he didn't pay attention now, he'd earn a lot of dirty looks. But he could also end up dead the next time he left his house.

"Sorry I'm late everyone. There was an issue, nothing to serious but enough to delay me a little."

Fred's old headmaster's voice brought him back to the world of the living. He was tempted to stand up and to clap sarcastically for the man's arrival but didn't. And his mother said he hadn't grown up.

A movement in the doorway drew Fred's attention away. Standing there, just behind the old wizard was a young witch whom he guessed _must _have been the object of his brother's latest affections. He chuckled quietly to himself and catching George's eyes, he flicked his head in her direction, indicating to him who he had seen. A moment later Fred saw a grin appear on the other man's face.

While Fred had been distracted, Dumbledore had been pardoning himself and thanking them all for waiting. He phased back into the speech in time to hear him introduce the pretty girl Fred had noticed.

"I would like to introduce you all to an old acquaintance of mine who has recently expressed interest to me to become one of our number. As you will surely be able to tell, she is not from Britain and this is all quite new to her so I would ask that you will all be friendly and welcoming to her. Her views on English people have been unfairly tarnished but I have faith that you all can return our good reputation to her."

Fred grinned as the girl stepped forward more during the speech. Little Ronniekins was actually right for once. She _was_ pretty. It would be no hardship to him to spend time working on that reputation.

"This is Natalia Abazy. Natalia, I'm sure everyone will introduce themselves when we have concluded, but for now we must get on to business."

The girl, _Natalia_ Fred reminded himself, nodded with a charming smile and took the seat Dumbledore indicated, the one directly to his left. Fred drummed his fingers faster on the table, more eager than before for the meeting to finish. Who knew? With some pretty new fish around, things might just get more interesting.

* * *

><p>As soon as the meeting finished and Dumbledore declared that it was time for him to leave, the Weasley household sprung to life. Talia was bombarded with people ready to personally introduce themselves to her. She smiled and nodded, gasped and laughed in all the right places, but she was paying little attention to the information she was being told. Instead, she was using the opportunity to build up personal profiles and opinions of as many people as possible. Currently, she was being held by a Minerva McGonagall who informed her on several different issues, especially focusing on their wizarding school. It was no surprise, really. She <em>was <em>the deputy master.

"Excuse me, Professor, but I was wondering if I could borrow Miss Abazy." A voice said, disturbing McGonagall's conversation. She sighed loudly, looking up at the eager face of the boy who had just come to join them.

"I suppose it's time for you to meet the people your own age anyway." She said, before moving off and leaving Talia with the stranger. She surveyed him carefully. Tall and thin, red hair, pale and quite pleasant looking, she concluded.

"Enchanté, mon petit chou-fleur." He said, lifting her dainty hand in his and kissing it softly. She looked at him innocently as she responded in a fluent French accent.

"Je ne suis pas de la France, je suis née en Russie."

He snorted, desperately trying to cover it as a coughing fit. "I'm sorry; I didn't catch a word of that."

"It was not important anyway. I am Talia."

"Fred Weasley." He replied, shaking her hand which he was already holding awkwardly. She grinned at him.  
>"I think I met your brother the other day."<p>

Fred rolled his eyes. "Ron? Yes, he told us all about you and I must say that when he told us how pretty you were I did not believe him, but now I see I was wrong to."

"You are very flattering."

"Only to pretty girls."

He offered her a warm mug of tea which she happily accepted. The two sat down at one end of the table and upon her request, Fred began to tell her more about his family and what he did for a living. After a particularly funny story about a day in the life of his shop, he asked her what she did when she wasn't coming to foreign countries to fight evil wizards. She stopped laughing and tried looking at him seriously but her smile gave her away.

"I work in Russian politics."

His brows rose comically. "Going to be the next Minister of Magic, are you?"

She laughed pleasantly, drawing a few eyes from around the kitchen. She ignored them. "No. In Russia we do not have a Minister for Magic. All magical dealings are dealt with by the royal court. The queen is in charge always, and sadly that is a job that you cannot work for, but must inherit."

"You have a queen? I didn't know that."

"Few people do, outside of our own lands. We are one of the few magical monarchies left in the world and I believe the oldest, though I could be wrong."

"But what if she's a terrible ruler? Can you get rid of her?"

She considered his question for a moment. "I suppose we could, though few would dare. The non-magical Russians, the _muggles_ got rid of their rulers many years ago because they were unsatisfied with the way they ruled. But Milenki's, the family who rule magical Russia, are good at their job. There was a time when we considered getting rid of them but then the war against Grindelwald came and when Russia escaped it with few problems people changed their minds."

"What do you think of them?"

"I do not know. I know little about them as my job deals with small and irritating things which are not important enough to be brought anywhere near a queen. I guess they are okay, we could do a lot worse I think. Dumbledore told me all about your Minister on the way here."

Fred sighed, theatrically taking a huge swig out of his mug, as if it contained something stronger than just tea. "Now listen, my lady. I would happily take a queen over the bumbling idiots they put into our offices any day."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**If my French is terrible please let me know. :) Also, don't shoot me. I know, i know, Lupin tells Harry that there are no more wizarding royals in the world, but i like the idea that there are just a few left, and that not every government is ruled the way Britain's is, like in the real world. :)

Thanks to **candymarie92** for reviewing! You asked about romance and never fear, it does rear it's head occasionally through this story. :) Pairing will become more obvious next chapter, i think.

Thanks to everyone else who alerted/favourited! And thank you for reading, i hope you're enjoying the story. :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Talia gazed down at the parchment she was currently scribbling over. Her pretence of bringing a notebook to her second Order of the Phoenix meeting had been to take notes of anything that may have interested her. What she actually used the little book for was to keep herself entertained while different members of the society stood and gave reports on some of the most boring issues she had ever heard. She felt as if she was back at school. She had always been a smart kid, but anyone who had attended with her or even worked with her now knew that she had the attentive focus of a young and hyperactive puppy.

A glance up every so often, a nod here, murmur of agreement there, and _most_ people didn't notice that she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to anything around her. Three people did however notice.

Seated beside her was a man she had come to like quite well. Alastor Moody, or Mad-Eye as he was affectionately known by the younger members, had found it necessary to bombard Talia with questions on her skills with defensive magic before the meeting had started. Her mouth fell open as he listed spell name after spell name that she had no clue of. He was alarmed at her lack of knowledge until she reminded him that her first language is Russian, so naturally she did not learn the same incantations that he did. Instead he had taken to asking her what she would do in hypothetical situations. Apparently he was impressed with her and for the rest of the meeting, he would lean down and explain things to her in a whisper. He had been strangely amused when his magical eye caught sight of the little book she was writing in. He rolled both eyes and tapped his wand on the parchment. _Constant Vigilance_ appeared in curvy script beside the little list of names occasionally popping up in the talks; _Bellatrix Lestrange, Harry Potter, Lucius Malfoy_.

Her new found friend Fred grinned at her every time she looked in his direction. He was obviously as bored as she. She always smiled back.

Sadly, Severus Snape wasn't as impressed with her as Fred. The man who had first interrogated her clearly despised Dumbledore's decision to let her join the order meetings, but unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could do to change that. Now, as he sat at the long Weasley table opposite her, his view of her was becoming dramatically worse. He seemed to be deeply offended when she hadn't listened to a word of his magnificent report on living with Voldermort, but she didn't care. His glaring was getting a little irritating though.

If there was one thing Talia had perfected at school, it was the art of staring wars. She had been quite the formidable opponent back then but was slightly out of practice as _proper Russian ladies do not participate in such childish things. _But she wasn't in Russia anymore, was she?

Placing her left elbow on the table, she rested her chin in her hand and stared back at Severus Snape.

His eyes narrowed into slits, displeased at her decision to silently challenge him. As his black eyes glared, she quietly pleaded with her eyes to change from their usual soft shape and colour to a more threatening and soul-less manner. If they did change, she'd never know because he showed no sign of it.

He had definitely lost interest in the meeting, his eyes and scowl now reserved solely for her. Their fight had lasted several minutes before she started to see him weakening. She smiled playfully. He may be a determined man but Talia knew that few could resist her when they stared into her eyes. It was after all, her favourite trick.

One thing Talia had not taken into account was that Snape was a terrible loser, and he had no desire to lose. As she saw him failing to keep up, he turned to using dirty tactics. She could sense his mental presence, pawing gently at the edges of her mind, trying to invade it without her noticing. He was good, she had to admit, but not that good.

While he worked his way further into her mind, she felt herself getting angrier and angrier. Who did he think he was that he could just read her mind like that, without her permission? But she stopped those thoughts before they could rise to the surface. Deciding to toy with him, she filled her own head with annoying thoughts; stupid meaningless memories, strange dreams, important conversations in fluent Russian which she knew he would never understand. She baited him in, convincing him that her most important memories were only inches away from him and that he was almost there. She could even feel his delight.

That was when she forced him out, pushing him right out of her head with all her power. As he arrived back in his own head, he fell off his chair, disturbing the silence of the meeting in the room. Everybody stared, a few daring to laugh as he sat up again, scowling menacingly at her while holding his pounding head. She smirked, looking around the table at everyone's different reactions, finally catching the look on Dumbledore's face. His eyes were twinkling.

* * *

><p>Talia hadn't intended to stay very long after the meeting was over, but all plans were cut short when Molly Weasley attacked her. She couldn't help but find the woman overpowering and smothering: Talia was not used to much mothering and to have someone she barely knew so concerned with her welfare was disconcerting.<p>

"Where are you staying, dear? We have lots of rooms, I'm sure we could squeeze you in somewhere-"

"Thank you for your offer but I'm quite comfortable where I am. I have a room at the Cauldron."

"The Leaky in London? Well dear, if you're _sure, _but do be careful, all sorts stay there now a days. You never can be sure."

After many promises to look after herself, Talia managed to squirm her way away from the woman. But, to use the well-worn phrase, it was like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Feeling a firm hand grasp her forearm, she spun around to face Snape. If looks could kill she would be dead many times already.

"A word, Miss Abazy."

She allowed him to tug her away from the kitchen and out into the hallway. Once they were standing in a dark corner, he let go of her.

"Explain yourself." He hissed. She scoffed in disbelief.

"You want _me_ to explain _my_self? You are the one who just dragged me away from everyone for no reason!"

"I have perfect reasoning!"

"Go ahead, tell me. I'm listening."

"_You_ were the one who made a fool out of me in front of the Order."

"Only because _you_ attacked my mind! Did the person who taught you how to read minds never tell you that it is bad manners to read someone's without their permission?"

"You started it with your little glaring war."

"You did not have to finish it."

"I never back away from a challenge."

"How child-like."

He huffed angrily, only reminding her of a child. She folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes. "Next time, do _not _try and read my mind."

"Who says I want to try again? Nothing_ useful_ in there anyway." He sneered, trying to taunt a snarky response out of her. Needless to say, he was stunned when she started to laugh at him. He growled softly.

"There's something odd about you."

"Is that what you say to get all the ladies to like you? I admit, I will be stunned if it works."

"I _will _find out what's wrong with you."

"You do that."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**Sorry for the late update, i have been busy doing...nothing. Yes you heard me right. I know exactly where i want to go with this story but sometimes the words refuse to flow. They're back again for the moment anyway. :)

Thanks **Naginator **(no, she's not a vamp but nice guess :) for the review and again to everyone who read and alerted. Really appreciate it guys so thanks. :)

On another note: Who has seen the new trailer? Is everyone else as excited as i am? I think it looks awesome. Lily, Sirius and Snape really pulling at the heartstrings there. :D And what of this PotterMore business?

Well, until next time. :)


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